What's your top 10?

[Vowelguy]

I don't mean how would you adjust the AP or committee rankings, I mean what do you think are the 10 best teams? We now have seen most of the top 10 vs UConn, not to mention in other top games.

I have to say the ordering here is tough - I think any of the top 10 has a shot at the title.

My thoughts:

1. UConn
2. Texas - 2 road wins over top 5 teams in the last 10 days. And Atkins is mighty impressive.
3. Baylor - Despite the TX loss, a ton of talent
4. Florida St - UConns toughest challenge, and if not for a q4 meltdown, they would've won last night
5. Maryland - Still a bit hard to evaluate given sked, but seem tough.
6. Miss St -
7. So Carolina - A dangerous team, but seemed to fade down the stretch last night. And their guards were surprisingly ineffective.
8. Notre Dame - Measure of how tight things are that the Irish are down at 8th. Could easily be higher.
9. Washington - 1st place in toughest conference in country
10. Stanford -

Next: Oregon St, Duke, UCLA, Louisville, Ohio St, Texas AM

 

[Vowelguy]

This would set up these brackets:
CT - UConn, ND, Stan, Ohio st
KY - fla st, md, ore st, tx am
TX - Texas, miss st, duke, ucla
Ca - Baylor, sc, wash, loui

 

[eebmg]

This would set up these brackets:
CT - UConn, ND, Stan, Ohio st
KY - fla st, md, ore st, tx am
TX - Texas, miss st, duke, ucla
Ca - Baylor, sc, wash, loui

Based on these brackets, I wonder if ND (or future 8th ranked team) may try to cleverly lose a game to go lower in the rankings to avoid UConn. I know. Just joking. Sought of

 

[Fairfield Fan]

I don't mean how would you adjust the AP or committee rankings, I mean what do you think are the 10 best teams? We now have seen most of the top 10 vs UConn, not to mention in other top games.

I have to say the ordering here is tough - I think any of the top 10 has a shot at the title.

My thoughts:

1. UConn
2. Texas - 2 road wins over top 5 teams in the last 10 days. And Atkins is mighty impressive.
3. Baylor - Despite the TX loss, a ton of talent
4. Florida St - UConns toughest challenge, and if not for a q4 meltdown, they would've won last night
5. Maryland - Still a bit hard to evaluate given sked, but seem tough.
6. Miss St -
7. So Carolina - A dangerous team, but seemed to fade down the stretch last night. And their guards were surprisingly ineffective.
8. Notre Dame - Measure of how tight things are that the Irish are down at 8th. Could easily be higher.
9. Washington - 1st place in toughest conference in country
10. Stanford -

Next: Oregon St, Duke, UCLA, Louisville, Ohio St, Texas AM

Absolutely agree that Texas has earned the #2 spot in the rankings now. Yes!

 

[chrissaran]

Texas, Maryland, Baylor, Florida St., and Notre Dame are the biggest threats to UConn's chances for their 12th National Championship. South Carolina could be if they get an effective game plan that allows them to score more. Even in a slowed down game they couldn't beat UConn.

 

[warbler1055]

Although Texas won the game 92-88, I thought that FSU would have won had they not missed those FT in the double OT. FSU is a bigger threat to UConn than Texas IMHO. Of course anything can happen in the tournament this year.

 

[Plebe]

It's always hard to avoid falling prey to recency bias. For my money Baylor is still the 2nd-best team. Texas played out of their minds to beat them. I give Texas credit for gutting out an ugly win at Florida State, but the level of play last night was nowhere near what it was in Waco. Both teams did more giving-the-game-way than taking it. On the whole, Texas has been less than impressive in many of its wins, such as a tight 5-point win over K-State at home.

My other sense is that all these teams ranked 2 through 8 are very, very close. The SC-MSU game and TX-FSU games are perfect examples.

 

[Phil]

I'm a Texas fan, but not ready to put them at #2. Luckily, they play Baylor again, so have a chance to cement that position, if they are that good. I'll be pulling for Texas, but not putting a penny on them in Vegas.

 

[triaddukefan]

1) UCONN
2) Baylor
3) Florida State
4) South Carolina
5) Notre Dame
6) Maryland
7) Texas
8) Miss State
9) Washington
10) Duke

 

[xHunt3r]

I don't mean how would you adjust the AP or committee rankings, I mean what do you think are the 10 best teams? We now have seen most of the top 10 vs UConn, not to mention in other top games.

I have to say the ordering here is tough - I think any of the top 10 has a shot at the title.

My thoughts:

1. UConn
2. Texas - 2 road wins over top 5 teams in the last 10 days. And Atkins is mighty impressive.
3. Baylor - Despite the TX loss, a ton of talent
4. Florida St - UConns toughest challenge, and if not for a q4 meltdown, they would've won last night
5. Maryland - Still a bit hard to evaluate given sked, but seem tough.
6. Miss St -
7. So Carolina - A dangerous team, but seemed to fade down the stretch last night. And their guards were surprisingly ineffective.
8. Notre Dame - Measure of how tight things are that the Irish are down at 8th. Could easily be higher.
9. Washington - 1st place in toughest conference in country
10. Stanford -

Next: Oregon St, Duke, UCLA, Louisville, Ohio St, Texas AM

I'd but the top 10 about where you got them.... at the same time I'm looking at that list and I'm thinking... man is UConn ready for the tournament. They have already won against the 6 of the next 7 team in the rankings. Not that it guaranties they'll beat them again, but they sure know what the competition will be like come in the final four.

 

[SCspur]

This would set up these brackets:
CT - UConn, ND, Stan, Ohio st
KY - fla st, md, ore st, tx am
TX - Texas, miss st, duke, ucla
Ca - Baylor, sc, wash, loui

Texas or Fl St won't be #1 seeds. They pretty much lost that hope when the lost last night. Florida St now has to win at ND and win the ACC tourney and Texas has to beat Oklahoma and Baylor twice (once at home and in the Big 12 tourney). Whoever wins the SEC tourney will be #1 seed with UCONN and ACC tourney winner.

 

[Phil]

Although Texas won the game 92-88, I thought that FSU would have won had they not missed those FT in the double OT. FSU is a bigger threat to UConn than Texas IMHO. Of course anything can happen in the tournament this year.

Obviously, in any OT game you can point to a lot of things that could have changed the game if they went differently, remembering that if you pick a play early in the game, you can't assume the remainder will play out the same. So while I agree that if FSU hits their free throws, it might have turned out differently, I'll also note:

• With 16 seconds left in regulation, Holmes takes a close-in shot that very easily could have been a score. If it goes through the net, it's a 4 point game with under 16 seconds, and a very likely Texas win.

• Holmes was fouled on that shot. She goes to the line up 2. If she hits two, then it's a 4 point game and probably over and Texas wins. She hits one.
• With 5 seconds left in the game. FL State is out of Timeouts, but Texas inexplicably calls a timeout, allowing FL State to set up a game tying shot. If Texas doesn't call a TO, what are the chances that FL State calls that same play? Unlikely. No TO? Probable Texas win.
• Romero is not just a good 3 pointer shooter, she isn't just the best on FL State, she's the best 3 point shooter in the country! If you must call a TO Texas, can you at least mention this tiny fact in the discussion, and guard her? Romero inbounded the ball, was not hindered from getting to her spot and took an open 3 to tie the game. If Texas screens her, or even contests the shot if she does get it, maybe she misses it and Texas wins in regulation.
• With 6 seconds left in the game Texas's high scorer McCarty takes a jump shot with the score tied. If she hits it, game over and Texas wins at the end of the first OT.

So yes, there are scenarios in which FL State wins, but I just listed 5 very plausible scenarios in which Texas wins before the 2nd OT.

 

[Vowelguy]

Texas or Fl St won't be #1 seeds. They pretty much lost that hope when the lost last night. Florida St now has to win at ND and win the ACC tourney and Texas has to beat Oklahoma and Baylor twice (once at home and in the Big 12 tourney). Whoever wins the SEC tourney will be #1 seed with UCONN and ACC tourney winner.

1) Those were my rankings, not how I thought the committee would vote.
2) Tex and FSU are absolutely still in the running for a #1 seed

 

[SCspur]

1) Those were my rankings, not how I thought the committee would vote.
2) Tex and FSU are absolutely still in the running for a #1 seed

1) I knew you were hypothetically speaking, but I wanted to state the facts.
2) Yes they still have a chances to be #1 seeds but their chances are slim if they don't win out. If you look at their next couple of matchups Texas has @ #19 Oklahoma & vs #4 Baylor and Fl St has @ # 7 ND and both them have tough sledding through their conference tourney.

It could happen but they will have to beat some teams out of the #1 seed slot, what teams do you think they beat out?

 

[Vowelguy]

1) I knew you were hypothetically speaking, but I wanted to state the facts.
2) Yes they still have a chances to be #1 seeds but their chances are slim if they don't win out. If you look at their next couple of matchups Texas has @ #19 Oklahoma & vs #4 Baylor and Fl St has @ # 7 ND and both them have tough sledding through their conference tourney.

It could happen but they will have to beat some teams out of the #1 seed slot, what teams do you think they beat out?

If Texas beats Baylor again, then they get a #1 over the Bears, regardless of the conference tournament.
If FSU beats ND, I think they are in the mix for a #1 vs the SEC runnerup.

 

[ASweet3781]

Based on how good I think they are regardless of where they should be ranked right now-

1. UConn
2. Baylor
3. Texas
4. Maryland
5. Florida State
6. Notre Dame
7. Miss State
8. South Carolina
9. Washington
10. Stanford

How they should be ranked-

1. UConn
2. Maryland
3. Baylor
4. Mississippi State
5. Texas
6. Florida State
7. Notre Dame
8. South Carolina
9. Washington
10. Stanford

 

[Sonny44]

I don't mean how would you adjust the AP or committee rankings, I mean what do you think are the 10 best teams? We now have seen most of the top 10 vs UConn, not to mention in other top games.

I have to say the ordering here is tough - I think any of the top 10 has a shot at the title.

My thoughts:

1. UConn
2. Texas - 2 road wins over top 5 teams in the last 10 days. And Atkins is mighty impressive.
3. Baylor - Despite the TX loss, a ton of talent
4. Florida St - UConns toughest challenge, and if not for a q4 meltdown, they would've won last night
5. Maryland - Still a bit hard to evaluate given sked, but seem tough.
6. Miss St -
7. So Carolina - A dangerous team, but seemed to fade down the stretch last night. And their guards were surprisingly ineffective.
8. Notre Dame - Measure of how tight things are that the Irish are down at 8th. Could easily be higher.
9. Washington - 1st place in toughest conference in country
10. Stanford -

Next: Oregon St, Duke, UCLA, Louisville, Ohio St, Texas AM

Yes.

 

[triaddukefan]

1) UCONN
2) Baylor
3) Florida State
4) South Carolina
5) Notre Dame
6) Maryland
7) Texas
8) Miss State
9) Washington
10) Duke

I need to update this list.